Scotch Broom typically grows up to 3-9 ft tall,
rarely to 13 ft, with main stems up to 5 cm thick.
The plant has green, slender, sharply angled branches, with generally
have five green ridges with hairs on them when young. As the branches
mature the hairs fall off. Scotch Broom may be confused with
Spanish Broom, however Spanish Broom
may be easily distinguished by its rounded (not ribbed/angled)
branches. On young branches there is usually one stalkless leaf or
three leaflets 5-18 mm long. Leaves/leaflets are oblong and pointed on
both ends, hairs may be flattened against the leaf or absent. The
bright yellow flowers are pea-like, about 2 cm long. Its seeds are
borne in dark brown to black, flattened pea-like pods, which are
prominently hairy on the seams. The pods mature black, 2-3 cm long, 8
mm broad and 2-3 mm thick; they burst open, often with an audible
crack, forcibly throwing seed from the parent plant. Scotch Broom is
native to western and central Europe. It is cultivated in Indian hill
stations and is also found growing wild.